This invention is directed to a sequential action toy wherein a plurality of movable parts of the toy are sequentially activated by cams located on rotating surfaces.
The subject matter of this invention is useful in toys of the type which can be attached to a baby's crib or the like in order to provide for entertainment of the occupant therein and for training of the infant's senses with regard to movable objects and sounds associated with them. It is known to combine music producing mechanisms with other mechanisms for creating motion of component parts accompanied by sound. Such devices are found in music boxes, per se, tops, and "activity type" toys. This latter category of toys would include such items as simulated musical instruments, instruments which require movement of a portion of the toy to produce sound output and the like.
In the past, the mechanical movements of the above noted toys was normally coupled directly to the musical movements. Many of the prior musical toys utilized drums and the like having a plurality of pegs thereon which interacted with tines of a sound producing mechanism as the drum rotated. This limited the musical sounds which could be produced to a single melody.
With the advent of modern sophisticated electronics, it is now possible to utilize relatively inexpensive microprocessors which can be programmed for reproducing musical selections. The sounds are produced electronically by coupling the microprocessor to an appropriate circuit adapted to drive a loud speaker. With the decoupling of the musical portion of these type of toys from the mechanical action portion, greater degress of latitude are available for producing mechanical movement.
Certain toys are known, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,498,603, which utilize a variety of cam surfaces which are radially displaced from a center of rotation. A member which is free to spin follows these cam surfaces and alternately spins in one direction and then the other as it moves from one cam surface to the next. It is important to note, however, that the member engages all of the cam surfaces in moving in a circular manner across the surface of the disc on which the cam surfaces are located.
A further type structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,279,793. In this patent a continuous cam surface has a plurality of undulations located on it in a circular pathway. A plurality of members follow this continuous cam surface and move upwardly and downwardly as they move over the undulations in the cam surface. As per the patent discussed in the previous paragraph, all of the members respond to each and every undulation in the cam surface.
Both of the mechanisms disclosed above have a very rhythmical mechanical output. It is deemed that as far as the interest of a small child is concerned, that a mechanical output which was less rhythmical but of sequential output, would provide for a greater attention keeping device as well as provide for movements which stimulate the development of basic sensory responses in the infant.